Sci Fi Scanner makes an interesting point about Star Wars, which I’ve never really thought much about:
The portion of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” we often forget — even though it’s the most important—is the “long time ago” part. Star Wars, unlike most sci-fi, is not about the future: It’s about the distant past of alien species utterly unconnected to humanity.
But if we were to fly to Coruscant today, what would we find? Would the city planet be the rusting hulk of a once great capital, the inter-cosmic ruins of Rome? What would archeologists find, exploring Hoth, Degobah [sic] or Tattooine?
That was the theme of the winning entry for Starship Modeler’s recent “Wrecks” contest: A battle-damaged AT-AT, long abandoned and looking uncomfortably like a wounded animal. This is just an insanely detailed piece, and even hints at a backstory involving primitive squatters using the thing as a shelter.